
DJ mixing tracks on a mixer in a nightclub
Not too many people in today’s era of pop culture can say they haven’t heard of Lil Baby (Dominique Armani Jones), who’s been a rising rapper/singer/songwriter since 2017. Since coming on the scene, Lil Baby has won over fans with songs like ‘My Turn,’ or ‘Sum 2 Prove.’
What many of Lil Baby’s fans might not know, however, is that it wasn’t alone that Lil Baby found his way to fame. There’s a composer and lyricist who deserves a lot of credit for his work on many of Lil Baby’s songs. That man’s name is Deundraeus Portis. He was born in Mississippi, but is currently based in Atlanta, Georgia.
Professionally, Deundraeus Portis is also known as Twysted Genius. Whichever name you prefer to call him, he’s both a record producer and DJ who works not only with big artists like Lil Baby, but is also credited for songs by many other artists from the record label Quality Control.
Quality Control was first founded in 2013 by Kevin Lee and Pierre Thomas. Quality Control distributes through both Motown and Caroline, which are subsidiaries of the Capital Music Group. Since their start, Quality Control has signed many major acts, including:
- Migos
- Lil Yachty
- Lil Baby
- City Girls
While Quality Control is responsible for the distribution and signing of many artists, the two who are talked about the most in 2019 and 2020 are Lil Baby and City Girls. But, what do these two artists have to do with Deundraeus? Take a look at some of the songs that Deundraeus Portis is credited for.
Top 7 Songs Deundraeus Portis Has Worked On
- Emotionally Scarred by Lil Baby (peaked at #31 on Billboard Hot 100 Chart)
- Sum 2 Prove by Lil Baby (peaked at #16 on Billboard Hot 100 Chart)
- Live Off My Closet by Lil Baby
- Forever by Lil Baby
Deundraeus’s work on Lil Baby’s platinum-selling #1 Billboard album My Turn, which is where the above songs are from, is what jumpstarted his career. It’s his credit on Lil Baby’s album My Turn that earned him his #1 spot on Billboard’s Hot 100 Producers chart in March.
The four Lil Baby songs listed above credit Deundraues as the sole producer, allowing him to earn the points that put him at the first place.
- Come Outside by City Girls
- That’s My Bitch by City Girls
- JT First Day Out by City Girls
City on Lock is the name of City Girls’s second album to be released, and has earned a spot at #29 on the Billboard 200 chart. Their first album, Girl Code, was released in 2018 and reached its peak at #55 on the Billboard 200 chart.
When legends, like SEETHER, are recognized by Billboard, it’s a clear honor to make it on any of their lists.
All the above songs, both Lil Baby’s and City Girls’s, came out between 2019 and 2020, and credit Deundraues as a composer lyricist. What this means is that Deundraues played a role in both writing the music for these songs, as well as the lyrics.
Deundraues is a platinum-selling writer and producer who, as of September 2020, was offered a worldwide publishing deal by Reservoir, an independent music company in New York. Reservoir was founded in 2007 and now represents over 126,000 copyrights. It also represents 20,000 master recordings dating as far back as 1900.
Reservoir is responsible for hundreds of worldwide #1 releases, and has an impressive roster of active writers that include names like James Fauntleroy, Jamie Hartman, 2 Chainz, Young Thug, and many more.
Thanks to Deundraeus signing with Reservoir, it now has rights to his entire catalog of work with Lil Baby and City Girls. While this is great for Deundraeus to be signed with such a successful music company, Reservoir’s Quality Control CEO, Pierre Thomas, claimed he was just as excited about the partnership with Deundraeus because of the impact he has made on the music industry in his short two years on the scene.
While Deundraeus has plenty of top songs on the charts already, he still has more to come in the music industry with artists including:
- Young Thug
- Gucci Mane
- YBN Almighty Jay
- Lil Durk
- Future
- OMB Peezy
Conclusion
His work with Lil Baby is what really put his name in the music industry, but Deundraues is only getting started. The accomplishments he’s achieved so far have all been within his first two years in the industry, so there’s no telling where his talent will take him.
While, currently, Deundraeus has a solid top 7 songs he’s contributed to, that list is sure to grow within the next few years as more and more households learn the name Deundraeus Portis or Twysted Genius.